Battles & Campaigns · 1936
Montreux Convention
Montreux, Switzerland
What happened
Diplomats met at the Montreux Palace hotel by Lake Geneva to decide how ships could use the Bosporus and Dardanelles. Merchant ships were given free passage in peacetime, while foreign warships faced limits on size and number and had to give notice. Turkey regained military control of the Straits.
Why it matters
It settled the long-running 'Straits Question' by giving Turkey control of the sea route between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. It is still in force today.
What came next
During the Second World War it limited naval access to the Black Sea, and after the war the Soviet Union's demands to change it led to the Turkish Straits crisis.
Did you know?
A plaque in one of the hotel's salons still marks the signing.
Timeline
- 24 Jul 1923Treaty of Lausanne puts the Straits under an international commission.
- 23 Jun 1936Diplomats arrive at the Montreux Palace.
- 20 Jul 1936Montreux Convention signed.
- 1946Turkish Straits crisis.